It may seem uncommon to start talking about Christmas in July. Nonetheless summer time season inside the Northern Hemisphere is when gardeners wish to start occupied with the colder months to come back again.
This month or subsequent, it is doable you will be sowing quite a lot of leafy greens and additional to see you via winter and into spring. And that’s moreover the time to plant some potatoes in pots with the intention to benefit from some new potatoes over the festive season.
The place to Develop New Potatoes for Winter
With a view to develop potatoes to reap at Christmas time, you will likely need an undercover rising area in most temperate climates. If in case you will have a greenhouse or polytunnel, it is advisable be succesful to develop new potatoes in containers as long as you make it possible for these keep frost-free until you harvest them in December.
What Exactly Are New Potatoes?
New potatoes are freshly harvested youthful, or small, potatoes. They don’t seem to be a particular choice, nonetheless fairly, merely youthful (smaller) variations of their grown-up counterparts. They’re harvested earlier inside the season, which makes them sweeter; likewise, their skins are skinny and tender.
Container rising is generally best besides your area is frost-free in winter. Since containers can merely be positioned and moved undercover when the first frosts arrive.
I exploit big reclaimed buckets throughout which to develop my Christmas cropping potatoes, though you may use quite a lot of containers, along with big pots, barrels, sacks, or develop baggage of some kind.
When deciding how big containers must be, a tricky rule is that you want 10 liters 9roughly 2.5 gallons) of home for each potato tuber you plant. So in a 50-liter (10-gallon) container, it’s possible you’ll plant 5 seed potatoes.
To fill your containers, any peat-free potting mix shall be super.
I exploit a do-it-yourself combination of:
- 1/3 loamy soil
- 1/3 do-it-yourself compost
- 1/3 leaf mould
Which Potatoes to Develop
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Any first early or second early potatoes (first and second earlies talk about with potatoes which is perhaps harvested early inside the season) are good for rising to eat as new potatoes. I similar to the varieties Maris Peer and Charlotte personally, though there are numerous that you simply simply may try.
When to Plant Potatoes for a Trip Harvest
New potatoes—first earlies or second earlies—are usually planted in spring and harvested in June or July. Nonetheless as long as it’s possible you’ll protect them frost-free, it’s possible you’ll plant potatoes in summer time season for a harvest throughout the festive interval in mid-winter.
I uncover that the place I dwell in Scotland, the proper time to plant potatoes for Christmas is in late July in my polytunnel. Those who dwell farther south or in hotter areas normally uncover an August planting time is best.
When precisely it is advisable plant your potatoes will depend upon the place you reside and the date of your first frost.
The easiest way to Plant Potato Tubers
To plant your potatoes, first, fill the container to a depth of spherical 15 centimeters (6 inches) with the rising medium. I moreover like in order so as to add a layer of comfrey leaves onto which I set the potato tubers, with their shoots/eyes upwards. Cowl the tubers with one different 15 centimeters or so of your rising medium.
A great deal of home should nonetheless be inside the container with the intention to “earth up” your potatoes as a result of the vegetation develop.
Caring for Christmas Potatoes
Potatoes are normally easy to develop, nonetheless it will be greatest to adjust to these pointers to verify success.
- As a result of the vegetation develop, they should be earthed up a number of cases, merely as you will when rising potatoes inside the flooring. To try this, merely mound up the soil throughout the stem.
- Water continuously, significantly all through dry spells, remembering that vegetation in pots need further frequent watering than these rising inside the flooring.
- To supply vegetation a raise, you may additionally bear in mind feeding with an pure liquid plant feed 2-3 cases over late summer time season and early autumn. I prefer to make use of compost tea or a seaweed liquid feed for the intention.
- Inside the late autumn, take away lifeless foliage after the vegetation die once more. Nonetheless go away tubers inside the container until it is advisable harvest them. Merely look out for rodents, squirrels, or totally different pests that will try to get to your tubers sooner than you do.
- When you wish to harvest, it’s possible you’ll merely attain into the container to retrieve explicit particular person new potatoes just some at a time. Or it’s possible you’ll tip out the whole of the container to retrieve all the tubers from inside.
Whereas you may also have saved maincrop potatoes ready in your Christmas dinner, there’s one thing explicit about having current, new potatoes ready for the festivities. So ought to you may protect containers of potatoes frost-free, why not try rising some potatoes for Christmas cropping this yr?